Seoul Local Custom Tips by Ewingjr98

Thousands of years ago, a god named Hwan-ung decided to come to earth to live. He ended up at Baekdusan, a beautiful mountain in North Korea. One day, a tiger and a bear came to the god, wanting to become human. They made a deal that if the animals could live in a cave, eating only garlic for 100 days, their wish would be granted. The tiger quickly gave up and left the cave. The bear remained and was turned into a beautiful woman. The bear/woman became lonely so Hwan-ung agreed to marry her. They eventually had a child they named Dan Gun, who founded the Chosun kingdom in 2333 BC. Supposedly, Dan Gun's remains have recently been discovered at Baekdusan by the North Korean government.

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Website: http://www.natkd.com/korean_creation_myth.htm

Buddha's Birthday usually falls in late April or early May (in 2004 it was 26 May, and in 2005 it will be 15 May). At this time, the temples of Korea, especially Jogyesa Temple in Seoul, are decorated with thousands of lanterns. This is a very interesting time to visit the temples, as there are many street vendors, food stands, craft stands, and other things to see and do. During the festival, the entire street in front of Jogyesa is traffic-free and full of people! There is also a large parade.

The main festival area is next to Insadong, one of the city's big tourist areas, so there is a lot to do in the vicinity.

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Website: http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200705/200705160015.html

If you will only be here for a few days, don't even try... but if you have a year, that should be plenty of time to learn to read Hangeul characters if you are interested. Hangul was invented by King Sojong in the 15th Century as a way to simplify Chinese writing so all people could become literate. It certainly did simplify things! Instead of thousands of Chinese symbols Hangeul consists of only 24 characters, each with a distinct sound, just like letters in Western languages. When put together to create a syllable, the characters form a box, rather than a string of character as in English. A group of syllabic boxes is put together to form a word. Words are separated by an extra space between syllabic boxes.

The alphabet for the Korean written language is called Hangeul while the Korean spoken language is called Korean or Hangungmal.

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Beer, or "Maekju" in Hangeul, in probably the most popular Korean drink for foreigners. The two most common brands are OB (Oriental Brewery) and Cass.

OB, first brewed in 1933, has 4.4 % alcohol and claims "timeless enduring heritage, craftsmanship and new rice addition deliver refreshing smoothness and clean aftertaste, making OB the most drinkable beer." I'll admit, OB is VERY drinkable, but I really couldn't taste their "new rice addition."

Cass is the newer brand, and has 4.5 % alcohol by volume. Rather than taste, Cass declares itself as "the Refrashing Beer that Vitalizes Youth and is Cold-filtered for the most Freshness." If I can say one thing about Cass, it certainly Vitalizes Youth, if my understanding is the same as theirs... During my time here, I never quite figured out how to say "Cass" so that Koreans understood me... I tried cass, cahs, caws, cassa, cassu, caus, and other varients with no luck. If anyone can give me the correct pronunciation (and something it rhymes with), I'll be forever in debt!.

You will occasionally see Hite beer, Hite Stout, and Cafri but none are as Drinkable or Vitalizing as OB and Cass. Through my most dilligent research, I have concluded that OB, Cass, and Cafri are all brewed by the same company -- see Oriental Brewing Co's website at www.beer.co.kr. Hite's website is http://www.hite.com

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Website: http://www.ob.co.kr/main.asp

Eating and drinking with Koreans is one of the things that is most common and most difficult to get used to. At a traditional Korean restaurant, you will leave your shoes at the door and sit on a small mat on the floor next to a table that is only about 1 foot off the ground. Koreans always pour drinks for others at the table, but never for themselves. Money talks, and the older person almost always gets the bill. They don't split the cost and pass money around the table like most Americans! Unlike some other Asian countries, Koreans usually don't pick up soup bowls to drink the broth, instead they use metal spoons.

Western restaurants almost always serve meals in the Western style, with regular tables and chairs along with silverware. Even some of the more casual Korean restaurants use the Western style nowadays.

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Korean bills come in only 1000, 5000, and 10,000 Won notes. Coins come in 50, 100, and 500 won. Since the exchange rate is around 1150 Won to a dollar, you'll see that it takes a lot of paper to pay your rent or buy major items. Luckily, there are bank checks for 100,000 and 1,000,000 won, not really money, but it's the next best thing.

A new 5,000 Won note has been used since 1 Jan 2006 and A new 1,000 Won note was recently revealed and will go into circulation in 2007.

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There are several places in Seoul where you can hear traditional Korean music. From major professional theaters to the casual, outdoor Seoul Nori Madong (Jamsil-dong) you can easily find these performers playing their ancient music on drums, silkstring instruments, or bamboo pipes.

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Do Koreans really eat dog meat? You bet they do... it's called Kaegogi, literally "fire dog." It's really a summer-time delicacy (for the "dog days" of summer!).

Koreans are very sensitive to the Western belief that dog should not be eaten, therefore, they will rarely talk about eating dog, will seldom eat it in front of a Westerner, and would never serve dog without telling their guests. Unlike most other Korean stores and restaurants, Kaegogi restaurants never have signs in English, as they are not for tourists. If you want to try dog, you'll have to learn Hangul or make friends with a local. My friends who tried it say it tastes like a wet dog smells...

According to this BBC article (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/422338.stm) dog is the fourth most popular meat in Korea after pork, beef, and chicken. Eating dog was banned for several years around the '88 Olympics and '02 World Cup, partly due to the inhumane killing methods, but the practice has continued. Some argue that the practice should be stopped due to the infamous cruelty, while others argue eating dog is part f the Korean culture and therefore should be allowed, but regulated to prevent abuse and punish those who might torture the animals.

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The primary religions in Korea are Christianity and Buddhism.

Despite it's late arrival in Korea, Christianity is the primary religion of about 21% of the total population. Christian churches and cathedrals are common throughout the land. South Korea has the second highest rate of Christianity in eastern Asia, with the Philippines being first. Christianity in Korea is usually associated with modern reformist thinkers.

Buddhism, not surprisingly, comes in a close second in Korean religion with about 20 % of the population. Buddhist temples are typically beautiful, secluded compounds high in the mountains, though a few are located within the cities. Buddhism is Korea is typically associated with conservative, old fashioned thinking.

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A Korean food custom is rice cake candy. This is popular at festivals and, for some reason, in subway stations. This candy is made by beating the snot (or as Koreans say: nose water) out of rice until it becomes sticky and chewy. It doesn't have much taste until the balls of rice candy are coated with cinnamon, sesame seeds, or other tasty items. The rice candy is often filled with sweet red mung bean paste which sounds disgusting, but actually tastes pretty good.

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Website: http://www.thingsasian.com/stories-photos/3751